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‘Accident victims’ were shot in head

What was first thought to be a fatal accident which claimed the lives of two friends turned out to be a double murder. Autopsy results yesterday stated that Jason Adams and Shastri Rampersad were shot twice in the head, both with different weapons. Police said around 12.40 pm on Sunday, Rampersad and Adams, both 38, and from Milton Village, Couva, were driving along St Michael Road, Tacarigua, when Rampersad’s black Nissan Navara ran into a mound of dirt, overturned and ended up on its hood. When police arrived on the scene 15 minutes later, both men were already dead. Before the vehicle was towed to the Arouca Police Station, police found a small quantity of marijuana and a large quantity of $100 bills in a small plastic shopping bag in the van.

Forensic pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov yesterday told the T&T Guardian the men were shot in their heads. Alexandrov said they had mirroring wounds and his expert opinion was that the men were seated in the pickup when they were shot. He could not state who was shot first but believed their killers might have been in the vehicle at some point. Alexandrov said the men appeared to have been “shot like mannequins” without putting up any resistance. Speaking to the media at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday relatives of Adams said he was a “good guy” who was always helpful. The relatives said the two went out liming before they were killed.

They said Adams was a father of five but cared for ten children as he also looked after his brother’s five children. Rampersad’s girlfriend Michelle-Ann Beckles said he was a “teddy bear” who did anything for those he loved. She added that Rampersad was a senior plant operator at a methanol plant in Point Lisas. In an unrelated incident, 18-year-old Kern “Mad Max” Catene was shot dead on Sunday night a short distance away from his home. According to police reports, residents of Marcella Road heard gunshots around 9.50 pm and when they checked found Catene bleeding from injuries. He died at the Port of Spain General Hospital while undergoing treatment. Speaking to the media at the Forensic Science Centre yesterday, Catene’s sister, Alana, said she was coping with the murder although it was the third in the past five years that the family had to endure. Asked about the patrols of soldiers in the Laventille area following the murder of Lance Cpl Kayode Thomas on June 29, Catene said it was welcomed. The murder toll is now 224 while the corresponding toll last year stood at 194.